December 6th

December 6, 2011

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) â€” Denver Holmes knocked down outside shots and provided Evansville with some scoring punch against fourth-ranked North Carolina. The problem was that no one else followed his lead.

While Holmes scored 14 points in the 97-48 loss to the Tar Heels on Tuesday night, no other player reached double figures for the Purple Aces. The rest of the team struggled to knock down shots, particularly from 3-point range, that could have helped negate North Carolina's big size advantage.

December 6, 2011

Catawba County Schools Superintendent Glenn Barger will retire at the end of the school year â€” again.

Barger previously retired as superintendent in 2000 after holding the post for 10 years. He rejoined the county system as interim superintendent Oct. 1, 2010, and assumed the full-time position in late February of this year.

"I told the school board Monday night I plan to go back into retirement at the beginning of this school year, effective July 1," Barger said.

December 6, 2011

The man who killed a 19-year-old Catawba teenager in 2007 will spend at least 12 years in prison.

John Lee Mitchell pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the April 2007 death of Travis Baker and two other charges on Tuesday in Catawba County court. He will serve a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

The Travis Baker case, which began as a missing person case in 2007, turned into a homicide investigation after his bullet-riddled skull and other remains were found under a lumber pile off Eulalia Lane near Catawba in June 2009.

December 6, 2011

Dewayne Baker stood up in Catawba County Courtroom No. 2 on Tuesday and faced his sonâ€™s murderer.

Holding two sheets of notebook paper scribbled with red ink, he locked eyes with John Lee Mitchell, the 48-year-old man who shot his son, Travis, to death more than four years ago.

â€śMr. Mitchell, I stand here today to speak for someone that canâ€™t,â€ť Baker said, continuing to speak about his sonâ€™s loving personality as a brother, uncle, grandson and father. â€śYou shot our son to deathâ€¦Our life will never be the same.â€ť

December 6, 2011

In the wake of N.C. Rep. Mark Hilton's decision to not seek re-election, one would-be candidate has stepped forward to try to fill his seat representing the state's 96th House District.

In a Tuesday afternoon email to The O-N-E, the Hickory Metro real estate developer Andy Wells announced his decision to seek Hilton's seat. The seat for North Carolina's 96th district is up for election in November 2012, and filing begins in February. That district includes much of western Catawba County, including Conover, Mountain View, but it does not include Hickory.

December 6, 2011

The man who killed a 19-year-old Catawba teenager in 2007 will spend at least 12 years in prison.

John Lee Mitchell, the Florida man who killed 19-year-old Catawba native Travis Baker in April 2007, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Tuesday in Catawba County Court. Mitchell will spend a maximum of 15 years in N.C. Department of Correction.

The Travis Baker case, which began as a missing person case in 2007, turned into a homicide investigation after his bullet-riddled skull and other remains were found in a lumber pile off Eulalia Lane near Catawba in June 2009.

December 6, 2011

N.C. Rep. Mark Hilton won't seek a seventh term in the N.C. House, and he said the decision was driven by a desire to spend more time with his family â€” not by growing suspicions surrounding loans he received from an economic development company operated by a fellow legislator.

"The time has come for me to spend more time with my family," he said.

"When I first got elected, I wasn't married, and I had no children.

Since then, me and my wife have been procreating and having children biannually. We have three and we are going to stop there."